Hara Hara Shankara, Jaya Jaya Shankara

Monday, March 30, 2015

Progress report of LAHARI in 2014-15

LAHARI shuts down for summer. 2014-15. It has been an eventful year for LAHARI Cultural Learning.

LAHARI is in its 10th
since inception. We started it in November, 2005. It has been a great blessing that we could reach out to children and help
them increase their spirituality quotient (SQ). The number of students was an
all- time high of nearly 30 children learning slokas and stories. The reason for this elation is this: Parents enrol their children in dance or music or any fine arts with the expectation that their child will reach the zenith, reach certain milestones and would be able to perform for the general public as a result of which they gain name, fame and money. They have something to look forward to. But a sloka class has no such thing. These days, competitions are conducted for sloka recitation. But most of the times it stops at that. Have we ever seen anyone reciting slokas for two hours like a music or dance concert. That is the beauty of all children and parents in LAHARI. The expectation of a material success is absent here. The intention is to learn slokas, to know our great Hindu culture and its various aspects. People coming to a class for the sole reason of knowing it is very rare. That's why I say children of LAHARI are special.

We do not teach only slokas here. We disscuss the ramayana, mahabharatha, moral stories, about different aspects of the GITA and so on. We encourage them to participate in many competitions that involve religion and spirituality. The following pictures are of LAHARI kids receiving the prizes for a quiz competition.

2014 saw the beginning of
activities like “anna danam”. Children collected rice, dal in their homes. These were
cooked and delicious items were made which were distributed to the maintenance
and security staff of White House. We intend to make this an annual event.
Donations to various vedic organisations and temple constructions were done. LAHARI
also has its own blog and facebook related to spirituality and its activities.
The readership on the blog touched 15000 while the facebook page has crossed
300 likes. For those who would like to have a look, here is the address of the
blog: http://lahariguru.blogspot.in/

Our children also participated in
chanting programs organised by Chinmaya mission. Children of LAHARI rocked the dasara celebraation in White House apartments through their fluent chanting , and mythological skits. They have also participated in many occasions pertaining to temple activities.

One of the biggest milestones
was that the senior batch of students completed learning Vishnu Sahasranama.
With breaks in the middle and holidays seasons coming, it took us nearly 2
years to complete. Nevertheless, these children can chant the sahasranamam
effortlessly. Life is a vicious circle. So, also is the Sahasranama. If we don't concentrate,
we tend to go round and round the same lines in the chant. These children can
chant this hymn in one straight go without any hiccups. I must thank them for
their patience and applaud their parents for being extremely supportive. Netra,
Siyani, Shalini, Vishnu, Varshini, Sukitha, Shriram and shrihari form the
senior batch. Few of them are in their teens. Yet the teen fever has not caught
them. They are as humble and disciplined as their parents.

The junior batch is a bubbling
lot. Be it reciting the slokas or telling a story or answering questions, they
are always on the edge of their seat. I always get to see a high voltage
atmosphere in my house with the kids of the junior batch step in for the class.
Aditya, Harish Krishna, Shri hari, saakshara, Arun, Ram Arya, Srushti, Kanika,
Anvitha, Ayush, Aanya, Ishita, Girish are all
shining stars of my class.

Coming to the sub-junior class
where children are as small as 6 years, these kids are fun loving and make the
class very lively. Apart from chanting, they make the class merrier with the
child-like talk and stories. Nishta,
Naisha, Tvisha, Vasudha, Aryaman, Arjun, Mrinal, Gunin, Amartya are all little heroes of LAHARI.

Personally, I have been greatly benefited by
teaching children. I consider it to be great blessing that GOD chose me to
teach children. I don’t say this with a sense of pride for any achievement but
with whole hearted gratitude. When I go out, children recognise me “Sloka” aunty, “ram ram” aunty and so on. Getting
recognised by innocent ones through such names is a fulfilling experience. I
get to hear about children feeling bad when they miss a class, when children do
not want to compromise sloka class for another class which would probably give
them more material benefit. These are very heartening to hear. It only shows
the commitment and the interest that children have in knowing our culture and tradition.

Last but not the least, I must
thank my husband and children for being extremely supportive and encouraging.
My children also have shown equal interest in learning the slokas and the
stories.

My prayer to the almighty is to
give me the vigour and strength to teach these children what I know and to
learn from them what I don’t know. Let me never get the sense of pride or
arrogance. Help me to impart what is right without fear or favour.

May god bless all children of
LAHARI with a bright and prosperous future. May they live their life with bhakti
and knowledge. It is only then can one balance life through ups and downs